Rafferty Asset Management LLC Reduces Stock Position in Prosperity Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:PB)

Rafferty Asset Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Prosperity Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:PB - Free Report) by 6.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 111,220 shares of the bank's stock after selling 7,639 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.12% of Prosperity Bancshares worth $8,380,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Prosperity Bancshares by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,780,006 shares of the bank's stock valued at $736,923,000 after purchasing an additional 44,567 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Prosperity Bancshares by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,586,260 shares of the bank's stock worth $345,575,000 after buying an additional 48,304 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in Prosperity Bancshares by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,342,047 shares of the bank's stock worth $176,473,000 after buying an additional 32,917 shares during the last quarter. Snyder Capital Management L P lifted its stake in Prosperity Bancshares by 7.3% during the 4th quarter. Snyder Capital Management L P now owns 1,220,977 shares of the bank's stock valued at $92,001,000 after acquiring an additional 83,488 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Prosperity Bancshares by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,188,208 shares of the bank's stock valued at $89,531,000 after acquiring an additional 4,913 shares during the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Prosperity Bancshares

In other Prosperity Bancshares news, Director Ned S. Holmes sold 500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.62, for a total transaction of $36,810.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 105,315 shares in the company, valued at $7,753,290.30. This trade represents a 0.47% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 6,600 shares of company stock valued at $460,409. Corporate insiders own 4.20% of the company's stock.

Prosperity Bancshares Stock Down 1.0%

PB traded down $0.70 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $69.21. The company had a trading volume of 63,387 shares, compared to its average volume of 623,957. The business has a 50-day moving average of $68.91 and a two-hundred day moving average of $74.99. The company has a market cap of $6.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.68, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.70. Prosperity Bancshares, Inc. has a 1 year low of $57.16 and a 1 year high of $86.75.

Prosperity Bancshares (NYSE:PB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The bank reported $1.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $306.68 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $307.17 million. Prosperity Bancshares had a return on equity of 6.64% and a net margin of 26.79%. Prosperity Bancshares's revenue for the quarter was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.18 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Prosperity Bancshares, Inc. will post 5.83 EPS for the current year.

Prosperity Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.58 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.35%. Prosperity Bancshares's payout ratio is 44.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PB has been the subject of several research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on shares of Prosperity Bancshares from $95.00 to $90.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 5th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Prosperity Bancshares from $102.00 to $94.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Hovde Group lowered their price target on Prosperity Bancshares from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. Barclays cut their price objective on Prosperity Bancshares from $88.00 to $86.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Prosperity Bancshares in a research report on Wednesday. They set a "buy" rating and a $85.00 price objective for the company. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Prosperity Bancshares presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $83.80.

Prosperity Bancshares Profile

Prosperity Bancshares, Inc operates as bank holding company for the Prosperity Bank that provides financial products and services to businesses and consumers. It accepts various deposit products, such as demand, savings, money market, and time accounts, as well as and certificates of deposit. The company also offers 1-4 family residential mortgage, commercial real estate and multifamily residential, commercial and industrial, agricultural, and non-real estate agricultural loans, as well as construction, land development, and other land loans; consumer loans, including automobile, recreational vehicle, boat, home improvement, personal, and deposit account collateralized loans; term loans and lines of credit; and consumer durables and home equity loans, as well as loans for working capital, business expansion, and purchase of equipment and machinery.